‘A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”…Jesus answered…“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.’ (Luke 18:18-23 NIVUK). This man had two problems, and Jesus brought up both of them. Firstly, the man had to discover that keeping a load of religious rules can’t fill the emptiness in our souls; only a relationship with Jesus can do that. Secondly, he needed to realise that he didn’t just own his riches and possessions, his riches and possessions owned him and kept him from following Jesus. He had so much potential. He could have used his resources, his network, and his energy for God’s kingdom, but he wanted to keep it all for himself. And when Jesus pointed all this out to him, the Bible tells us that he ‘became very sad.’ He didn’t want to give up everything he had. He couldn’t see that the treasure waiting for him in heaven was worth giving up all his earthly treasures for. Jesus made him a great offer, He said: ‘Come, follow Me.’ And He offers us the same today. Are we prepared to give things up to have Jesus? Do we believe that there’s more in store for us? Will we follow Him?
